Donald Trump's Tweet About HIV/AIDS Draws Ire: 'No Ally Of People Living With HIV'

U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirmed his commitment to end HIV/AIDS in 10 years but earned backlash from the members of the Democratic National Committee. On Sunday, Trump took to Twitter to express his support for those living with HIV/AIDS and call for eradicating the disease in a decade.

Trump first declared his commitment to end AIDS back in February 2019. In his State of the Union (SOTU) Address early this year, the U.S. president vowed to end the epidemic in the U.S. by 2030. “My budget will ask Democrats and Republicans to make the needed commitment to eliminate the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years,” he said. “Together, we will defeat AIDS in America,” he added.

Included in the president’s plan is deploying the people and key prevention and treatment strategies needed to reduce new HIV infections by 75% over the next 5 years. The president also promised to improve access to comprehensive prevention and treatment, including medications that can prevent infection such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and the setting up of HIV elimination teams.

On World AIDS Day on Sunday, Trump said on Twitter that he and his wife Melania Trump remain committed to ending the disease in 10 years and declared that the program intended for eradicating AIDS had already started in the U.S. “American leadership has proven that together we can save lives,” he wrote.

Unfortunately, the tweet did not escape eagle-eyed members of the Democratic National Committee, who claimed that Trump’s policies are not helping HIV patients. The DNC pointed out that after Trump promised to support those living with HIV, his administration ironically cut global HIV-prevention programs and condemned programs that support HIV patients like the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid and Planned Parenthood.

“This president is no ally of people living with HIV, who are disproportionately LGBTQ and people of color,” said DNC Chairman Tom Perez, DNC Disability Council Chairman Tony Coelho, and DNC LGBTQ Caucus Chairman Earl Flowlkes in their joint statement.

Following the release of DNC’s statement, White House spokesperson Judd Deere lambasted the committee for attacking Donald Trump instead of honoring and remembering those they have lost due to AIDS.